Due Diligence

Candace Nelson —Founder of Sprinkles Cupcakes, Shark Tank Judge & Investor


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If there is such a thing as an "OG girlboss", Candace Nelson would be it. 

Her entrepreneurial journey began when she left investment banking to cofound the cult favorite cupcake brand Sprinkles which has sold over 200M+ cupcakes since it was founded in 2005 & has been beloved by Hollywood celebrities from Jessica Alba to Blake Lively to Oprah. She sold the company in 2012 and went on to become executive producer of Netflix's Sugar Rush, a judge on Food Network's Cupcake Wars, and executive producer of Hulu's upcoming Best In Dough. Most recently she is known for cofounding the award-winning pizzeria chain Pizzana. She is an active angel investor, the NYTimes bestselling author of The Sprinkles Baking Book and now the author of the new manual for aspiring entrepreneurs, Sweet Success: A Simple Recipe to Turn Your Passion into Profit.

In this episode we discuss:

  • How Candace went from investment banking in Silicon Valley to pastry school
  • Why she's passionate about food & the food business
  • The sacrifices she made in the early days of Sprinkles 
  • How Candace uses competition to fuel her innovation
  • Why she decided to eventually sell Sprinkles in 2012 
  • How she balances being an entrepreneur with being an online personality AKA "creator"
  • What the process of writing a book was like
  • Sweet Success (book)

    Pizzana (restaurant)
    Sprinkles Cupcakes
    Candace's personal website
    Candace's Instagram & TikTok

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    Due DiligenceBy Dulma

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